92 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1896. 



are carefully recorded, have pedigree Chrysanthemums, some of which 

 will prove of merit. We are often led to think and say that the market 

 is over-stocked now with kinds, and that there is no more room for 

 others, and this is true in a measure of the white and yellow kinds, 

 but there is still room for good pink and red Chrysanthemums. 

 Florists to-day are still looking out for the pink that is good, bright, 

 clear from shading, of good texture and foliage, and one that will 

 pack and travel well. So you see there is still room at the top. Some 

 of you may object that it is not a suitable occupation for the amateur; 

 that professional growers are the only ones who have reaped either 

 wealth or reputation on these lines. This may appear at first to be so, 

 but let me tell you that the work of hybridizing is essentially that of 

 the enthusiast, one who has time to devote to the study of one particu- 

 lar plant or genus of plants, and to make it his own, if necessary, to 

 the exclusion of all others, and success will surely attend his efforts. 

 It has been so through all the improvements in the different branches 

 of Horticulture from time beyond count that the best work has been 

 achieved by operators who had little convenience but lots of enthus- 

 iasm, and I could prove it to you, did time permit, that the best re- 

 sults in hybridization have emanated from the ranks of the non- 

 professionals, though they may have later drifted into it as a business 

 as a natural consequence. You see we professional gardeners and also 

 the commercial florists have too many irons to keep hot to be able to 

 give the necessary amount of care and attention to any one class of 

 plants, and I. know of no more interesting and profitable field for the 

 amateur than the culture and improvement of the Chrysanthemum. 

 Haphazard work should always be avoided ; proceed with care, 

 making careful records as the work goes on ; always look out for the 

 weaklings among seedlings, these containing ninety per cent, of those 

 that will prove of value, and must be carefully nursed into vigor; 

 those that are aggressive in the seed-pans from the first will prove to be 

 the weeds of little value. There is a good deal more in this matter of 

 seedlings than most people are aware. We used to grow a large 

 number of Cinerarias for winter use, and our neighbors could not al- 

 ways understand why ours were generally the best strain; they came 

 to the conclusion that the dealer had more than one strain under the 

 same name, and then we had to tell them the reason of the difference ; 

 we always threw away all those that made the most vigorous start 

 when it came to potting time, or, if the seed came up thickly, we 

 pulled out the strongest and threw them out of the seed-box, carefully 

 nursing on the weaker ones ; in this way we preserved the choicest 



